The First Time
by Marianne H. Stillie
Summary: The best dreams are the ones shared with the person you love.


Title: The First Time

Author: Marianne H. Stillie

Categories: Point of View, Romance

Rating: M

Pairing: Daniel/Janet

Series: The Before and After Stories

Season: Season 7 Alternate Reality

Sequel To: Gifts

Summary: The best dreams are the ones shared with the person you love.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment, not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks are intended. Previously unrecognized characters, places and this story are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Archive: Please do not archive anywhere without the author's permission.

Copyright (c) 2005 Marianne H. Stillie

* * *

The First Time

A melodic symphony of cricket and frog sounds drifted across the still water of the Minnesota lake. The plaintive calls of the resident loons competed with them for space in the darkness. The sounds combined and seeped into the open windows of the small cabin at the shoreline.

The sultry notes of a lone alto saxophone coming from the stereo speakers in the living room absorbed the outdoor chorus. Curled up on one end of the comfortably broken-in couch, Janet Fraiser heard only the gentle, soothing voice of her companion, Daniel Jackson. She could see the bright glint of his vibrant blue eyes and the smooth contours of his handsome face in the lamplight. But it was his voice that always mesmerized her. She leaned her head against the back of the couch, her eyes never leaving his face, marveling again at how this long-time friend was suddenly on the verge of becoming her lover.

Her mind took a step away from her joy at having Daniel so close. Only a few weeks ago he had come back from a very difficult mission, his emotional stability the most tenuous it had been since his homecoming. She knew he hadn't been sleeping well since the break-in at his apartment but had taken for granted that he would resolve whatever was wrong in his own way. Despite his in-grained self-doubts, Daniel was much stronger than most people gave him credit for.

His SG-1 friends had seen something much different in their returned comrade. Each of them had come to her and cataloged a long list of reasons why they were worried sick that he was dangerously close to a breakdown. She had listened to their concerns and started making her own observations. She had come to the same conclusion that they had. Something beyond the norm _was_ wrong. Yet when he had reached out to her as a trusted friend, from what she knew now was the deepest need he had ever known, she had made a mistake. Instead of dealing with his internal crisis immediately, she had sent him away with trite suggestions to take a hot shower and get some sleep.

Janet admitted to herself that it had been her old fear of being hurt and rejected that had colored her reaction to him that evening in the infirmary. His erratic behavior the first time he'd come back from Makry had shocked her, as if all the tentative steps in their changing relationship since her struggle to save him from a multi-personality possession had never happened. Every one of his actions toward her showed that he was still the warm, caring, gentle Daniel she loved. Yet he gave no explanation for his previous cold behavior.

The dream that had come to her that same night had shown her the tormented world Daniel was living in, haunting visions of hell from his painful and tragic past, most she was very familiar with, others, strange and disjointed, beyond her comprehension. She was horrified at how close he was to losing his battle for both his sanity and survival. As she was drawn further and further into his nightmare, she found herself screaming, every one of her senses writhing in agony along with him. Frantically she began a struggle to save him but was pushed back by coercive feelings of despair and hopelessness. She fought even harder, ripping and tearing at the fatalistic elements that were pulling Daniel to insanity and another death. Her dream self coldly told her she was going to lose him and the nightmare suddenly broke off. She woke up trembling, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding in such intense fear she thought she would have a coronary.

By morning, she had regained some control. She wanted to rush to the SGC but her military and medical responsibilities kept her trapped at the academy hospital. Ditching Air Force brass from the Pentagon on a fact-finding visit was simply not done. Her mind worked madly on two competing levels during the inspection. The professional military part of her was in perfect form even while wrenching fear nagged at her in waves all day.

Her overactive mind started by asking a very blunt question. How had she let the situation get so out of control? Daniel was a different person in many ways since his homecoming. He had grown more confident as his preascension memory returned. He was more content in his work and more comfortable with his life. On the surface. The nightmare she'd been immersed in told a different story. She had let her joy at having him back dull her professional instincts. She had also forgotten how very good he was at hiding his feelings when it suited him. Worst of all, old fears had made her hesitate when he had needed her as more than his doctor. If only she had said the words that had almost slipped out that evening in the infirmary and taken him in her arms the way she'd wanted to. The disappointed look in his eyes when she'd backed away from him tore at her. When he'd called her a great friend, she'd felt safe again. He had put their relationship back where it had been before his ascension. That moment was even more poignant than the bittersweet, 'I'm sorry,' he had whispered to her just before he had lapsed into a coma last year. His passive acquiescence was for her sake. She should have known better than to accept it.

Inevitably, the introspective questions changed from what her logical mind had to sort out, to what her heart needed to know. What did she really want in her life? How did she want the future to unfold? What was she willing to risk? The questioning had all come down to one answer – Daniel.

Her tired doubts and insecurities shouldn't have any meaning or influence on her choices anymore. Daniel's absence had graphically reminded her how fragile and unpredictable life was. She had learned so much from being an adoptive mother, how to love and risk again. She and Cassie would always be mother and daughter but her house would be empty once more when her alien-born child went off to college in the fall. Like Daniel, she needed to put certain things from the past in their proper places. It was strange how most people thought of her as the stronger, more composed of the two. Even their best friends had no idea how often the opposite had been true.

By the end of the day she was so exhausted she had dragged herself home and went straight to bed. As her eyes closed, she was grateful that she would finally be able to see Daniel the next day. She would deal with his psychological crisis first. Afterwards, she would confront the personal and ethical dilemmas.

She had dreamed about Daniel often over the years. Silly dreams, sexy dreams, sad dreams. None came close to the kaleidoscope of visions that crowded her mind and sensitized her body that night. She was in his room at the SGC, saying things to him she'd never thought she would and touching him, not as the doctor she had been in the nightmare the night before but as his lover. Events began to unfold, unfamiliar times and places in a life that she could only describe as promises of heaven for the future. The beauty and love she saw waiting was the antithesis of the lives they had known. The most startling aspect of this sublime life was her presence in every one of the visions. In the last part of the dream, they had made love so intensely that she could still feel every sensuous movement of their bodies even when she was awake. And they had each said the words both of them had avoided so many times in the past. At that moment she was surer than she'd ever been that she loved Daniel and that she would do whatever was needed to become a full part of his life.

The day and a half of obsessing over her error in judgment had her adrenaline pumping at the crack of dawn. She had arrived at her office in Cheyenne Mountain well before the day shift took over. As she repeatedly rehearsed what she wanted to say, she lost track of how many cups of coffee she gulped down. She was determined to get Daniel into the infirmary for an in-depth evaluation of his mental state. Instead, he'd come to her. She was startled by the change in his behavior from two days before. His natural shyness had been overpowered by a clarity and determination that was very unlike his usual persona. He had told her quite frankly that it was time they got to know each other as more than friends. Her shock at his out-of-character directness lasted only as long as it took the last of her fears to fade away. They had talked, cautiously at first, with no idea of time. Only when one of her nurses came in to ask if she wanted lunch did they realize how much time had gone by. They looked at each other and smiled. There was so much more to say.

Daniel had followed her home that evening, with a stop at a Chinese take-out place in her neighborhood. Over steamed rice, moo shu pork and spring rolls, they began to open their minds and emotions to each other far beyond their professional friendship. They'd laughed over the suggestive adult fortune cookies, finished off a double liter of caffeine saturated cola drink then said good night. In the driveway, as they stood beside his vintage Land Rover, she'd kissed him on the lips, softly and languidly, her hands on either side of his face. His body had leaned into hers as he returned the long, tender kiss.

* * *

Getting to know each other better had been harder than they'd expected. More than a month went by between their first and second dates. SG-1 was off world on critical back-to-back missions. During the brief hours the team had returned to the SGC to resupply and rest between the missions, she had been either at the academy hospital or tending other SG team patients. They'd had time for a few quick conversations and too-brief private kisses when no one was around. He'd given her an extra hug before he'd gone to the Gate room for the most recent mission and apologized for not being with her for Cassie's graduation. The words had come very easily to each of them that morning.

When the klaxons sounded indicating an unscheduled off-world activation of the Stargate days before SG-1 was due back from the latest mission, she had panicked, knowing it was Daniel. All the agony she had kept locked inside her since that horrible day he had come home to die came back, the fear of losing him again almost paralyzing her. She had hidden her grief that entire year. Jack, Sam and Teal'c had needed her strength and empathy to cope with _their _grief. The year had been an especially hard one on the three veteran team members. Each of them had faced their own death on a distant world. As a physician and friend, they were her first concern when they'd come home to recuperate and heal after each mission.

Except for her daughter and her SGC friends, she had closed her emotions to everything around her during those long, empty months. That she had been deprived of the gentlest heart she had ever known was deeply hidden, along with her tears. Strangely, the only one she had been able to share her grief with was the one person she hardly knew, Jonas Quinn. She'd never blamed him for Daniel going away. Daniel was Daniel and would always choose to be the ultimate sacrificial hero in any circumstance if required. Jonas had somehow understood, in that unusually perceptive way of his, that her feelings for the ascended archeologist were more than friendship.

She finally had her fear under control just as Daniel walked into the infirmary, a blood-soaked bandage held against his forehead. His injury had been minor but it gave her an excuse to keep him there for observation overnight. During the hours he had slept, she'd kept watch. She had looked up at one point to see Teal'c in the doorway. He had nodded, smiled warmly then walked away.

The quiet time had allowed her mind to calmly evaluate the past they had shared together in a purely emotional way. She had brushed some strands of his short disheveled hair away from the bandage that covered the stitches she'd sewn so carefully. The placement of the wound at the center of his forehead reminded her of the extensive ribbon device bruises he had sustained when Ammonet had tried to kill him that last time. She could still feel his devastating grief after he had been told his beautiful wife Sha're was dead. Most of all, she remembered his face at the funeral. Every day after she had wished that, someday, someone would love her that much.

When Daniel woke up that night, they'd talked. Like the extremes of the two dreams, the bad times she recalled blended seamlessly with the happiness she was feeling at that moment. Her training as a scientist and medical doctor had made her a skeptic about all matters to do with spirituality and the unexplainable. Her experiences with the SGC had shown her there were levels of existence beyond the known. Most of all, Daniel had taught her to believe. When he told her about his nightmares and the special dream that had brought about such a change in his outlook, she knew that, somehow, they had been tied together in an amazing way those nights. She reveled in his joy as he revealed what he had experienced.

Only when he left out one vital part of what he called his night of dreams did she realize he wasn't ready to hear her feelings about what she had secretly shared with him. Her intuitive emotions had also told her that there was something he was still concealing about the Makry mission, as if he was pretending the five days he'd disappeared there had never happened.

He'd asked her if she'd like to spend some uninterrupted time with him away from the base. He told her about the keys Jack had given him and the offer of the cabin in Minnesota. Their hands had come together on the light blanket. Their relationship was still too new to say the more intimate words out loud but she'd seen the pellucid look in his eyes.

Before they'd left the base the next day, they had individually made requests to General Hammond for two weeks personal time off. By the time they met that evening for dinner at her home, they had each received phone calls telling them their requests were approved and would take effect immediately. They suspected their friends were behind the quick arrangements. When Daniel had called Jack to let him know he'd be using the cabin, Jack's cool response had been, 'Have fun. And catch plenty of fish.' When Janet had asked if Cassie could stay with her while she was away, Sam's casual comments, 'Great. Relax and have some fun,' were equally unusual. Neither of their best friends had asked the obvious questions.

* * *

Thirty-six hours later they were on a plane to Minnesota. Free of the professional and cultural restrictions of their jobs and the SGC, they began openly expressing their feelings in an entirely different way. Despite the emotional volatility Daniel consistently expressed toward his work and the people and causes he championed, he had always been very closed and reserved in physical expression. From the time he'd picked her up in the cab this morning, through the wait for their flight and on the plane, he'd held her hand. He'd taken every opportunity to stand close to her and touch her in gentle, affectionate ways. She welcomed this major change in him. It made it very easy and natural for her to reciprocate. And she had done so, often and lovingly.

They'd talked non-stop during the drive from the airport to the cabin. The openness of their conversation reminded her of the many times they had shared thoughts and feelings over the years while Daniel had been confined to the infirmary. She had soothed his grief, eased his pain, absorbed his anger, listened to his doubts and fears, and congratulated him on his victories. She had also kept his secrets.

It was late night when she'd found him standing just inside the door of the main ward. The rescue team that had brought Jack and Sam in from their near-death adventure in the Ross Ice Shelf of the Antarctic was long gone. Her two new patients were sleeping comfortably and she was about to go home. She and Daniel had known each other only a few months but she wasn't surprised at his concern for his teammates. She'd experienced his sincere compassion and caring when Cassie had been rescued from her plague contaminated planet. She had come up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

When he'd whipped around and grabbed her wrist so hard it felt like it would break, she'd cried out. For a few seconds his eyes had blazed at her, his face set in anger. Then a look of recognition and shock replaced the anger and he let go of her arm. He'd apologized in halting, flustered words and backed away into the hall.

She'd used her most compelling voice to calm him and convince him to come with her. He'd followed her reluctantly. As they sat beside each other in the privacy of her office, he'd become withdrawn and silent, refusing to meet her eyes. His hands were clenched in his lap with his body tightly drawn in. She continued talking to him, quietly trying to persuade him that he should tell her whatever was bothering him. When he'd finally looked up at her, the rage was back in his eyes. His wrathful words were directed beyond her to something his mind had refused to touch, that _she_ had had no right to take from him what she did by subterfuge and force. Then the tears were in his eyes. Through racking sobs, he'd poured out the humiliation and pain he'd suppressed since the Goa'uld Hathor had violated him with her callous physical use of his body. She'd held onto him very tightly until the feelings stoically kept inside him for weeks were fully released. After that day, she'd never doubted his strength and resilience. From that day, he'd told her, his trust in her had started to grow beyond a simple doctor/patient relationship.

Daniel's gratitude for that night and all the other times she'd cared for him was expressed in simple, subtle ways over the years that followed. A bouquet of flowers on her birthday, a smile or wink just between the two of them. His comforting words and affectionate touch when Cassie had been so ill two years ago. The most personal had been the way he'd returned the emotional favor.

She had always prided herself on her self-control and ability to manage in any situation. After she had been infected by Machello's bio-engineered parasites as he had been, she was distraught and apprehensive that her mind would be susceptible to all kinds of aftereffects. The fear of losing control again had started to affect her work and her behavior. She began to hide her anxiety in clever ways but Daniel had known. He had come into her office late one night and locked the door. He sat on her desk, pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He'd held her tightly and proceeded to lavish words of admiration and praise, understanding and empathy, encouragement and support on her. His beautiful voice made her rigid defenses melt away and she'd cried. By the time she was done with her fear-banishing catharsis, a good portion of his blue SGC shirt was darkly stained from her tears. He had gently wiped away the last of the tears, kissed her on the cheek and said good night. She still had the specially made plaque he'd given her that read 'The Doctors Are In'. From that day, she had trusted him unconditionally.

With each encounter at critical times in their lives, they would let down their guard and grow closer. But it never lasted. Each time he stepped out of the infirmary, healthy, balanced and strong again, they would go back to the way things had been before. Neither of them would allow that there could be more for them. They chose to keep the friendship they were sure of instead of risking another relationship possibly filled with disappointment and loss.

During the drive, they'd each done some long-delayed confessing. Daniel's part of the conversation had consisted of apologizing for using the excuse of his grief at losing Sha're for far too long to justify his inaction toward her. It had been so easy to just let everyone believe it. For her part, she admitted that she had hidden behind her anger toward her ex-husband to protect herself from having to take risks with someone else, especially him.

She had continued on with her confession that had to do with the future rather than the past. She told him that the reason the Pentagon brass had been reviewing her tenure at the hospital was because they were considering her for a full-time administrative position on the staff. It would be hard for her to leave the SGC although she would still be available as a consultant. The only reason she was considering it had to do with the ethics of their situation. She couldn't continue as his doctor now that their relationship was transitioning. Feeling that words were just too inadequate to describe the changes they were facing, she had leaned over and kissed a spot on his neck just below his ear. After long seconds of her enthusiastic kiss raising a noticeable red mark on his neck while he calmly continued driving, Daniel had asked her if her job change would mean that they couldn't play doctor anymore. He parked the rental car in the cabin's gravel entrance road just as their laughter and kisses made further driving impossible.

The July day had been hot and unusually humid. After a grocery run to the town twenty miles away, they had settled in at the cabin. They'd unpacked, taken a quick swim to cool off and made dinner. They discovered that they enjoyed working in the kitchen together. Daniel even volunteered to help her make his birthday cake the next day, if he could lick the bowl. He had loaded the CD player with a mixture of his favorite jazz instrumentals and her easy listening compilation discs. They had relaxed on the couch, enjoying simply being together and alone.

* * *

Daniel's beautiful voice drew her back to the here and now. He had been narrating the events of an SG-1 mission soon after his homecoming when his memory was still patchy. The planet had turned out to be an interesting archeological dig for him but two days of agonizing boredom for his fellow team members. As he continued a string of increasingly hilarious anecdotes about their mutual friends, his smile evolved into free, unbridled laughter. It was a sound she had heard only sparingly from this highly passionate man in all the years she'd known him. Again, she thanked whatever powers in the universe were responsible for sending him home.

She shivered despite the stillness of the heavy air. Her memories of the dream were seeping into her reality again and her body was responding. She'd kept what she knew to herself the last few weeks, sure that the time and place hadn't come yet. Until now. She let her eyes move hungrily across his face and down his body. Daniel was no longer the slender, boyish-looking academic she had met six years ago. The long hair drooping down to his glasses and into his left eye was gone. He'd become a seasoned, hard-muscled adventurer, his inner strengths clearly visible in his robust physical appearance. She sighed deeply, every nerve in her body tingling. She wanted to touch him _so_ much.

Daniel became silent. His breathing slowed as he noticed her staring at him. "I've been talking too much again, right?"

Startled out of her sensual thoughts, she smiled sweetly. "Never. But I have been thinking about something. Would you tell me again about the end of the dream…in detail?"

"You know where that will lead," he answered mischievously.

She laughed deep in her throat. "I didn't come here with you to spend two weeks sleeping alone, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel's eyes took on a faraway look. "In the dream you laughed like that when I caressed your arm."

"I know, my love. I had the same dream that night. I saw and heard and felt everything you did."

His surprise changed to understanding and he smiled. "Then you know all my secrets."

"And you know mine." Tears welling in her eyes, she repeated the words she'd used so passionately in the dream, "I love you, Daniel."

Stretching one leg out straight against the back of the couch, Daniel held his arms open. With eager movements, she nestled her body into his. His arms closed around her. She listened to his steady, deep breathing and the regular beats of his heart through the thin fabric of his tank top. The warmth of his body and the scent of his skin were strong through his sparse clothing and made her dizzy. The tensing of his muscles all along his body as she rested against him told her that he was feeling the effects of their physical closeness as intensely as she was.

She felt his hands slide under her camisole. One rested on her back; the other on her bare breasts. The soft caresses on her skin from his searching fingers made her long-delayed desire for him begin to manifest in a sharp tightening of her nipples. As his hands explored more aggressively down and around her body, a gentle aching spread into her groin.

Her voice hot and throaty, she said, "Tell me what you feel, Daniel."

He took a deep, slow breath. "What do I feel?" He chuckled softly, "Where do I start?" He kissed the top of her head then continued, "I feel as if my world is turning in a whole new direction and if I don't follow it, I'll be lost forever. I see you in the center of my new world. When I'm with you, there's no loneliness or grief or despair anymore. I'm so grateful to have this chance to love you, to make you happy, to be your knight in shining armor, even though I don't really feel like one. I'm overwhelmed that you want me to be a part of your life and give me a real home and family. I feel that I'll be able to do anything as long as you love me."

His voice quivered as he continued, "For the first time since Sha're died, I'm not afraid to love, to risk, to open my soul to someone beyond friendship." His arms tightened around her. "I hope I'm using the right words to let you know how much I love you, Janet. If I'm not, just tell me and I'll do better."

She sat up and looked into his eyes. "Your words are perfect and I hope you'll always want to say them."

"I will, on one condition. I need you to tell me what you want," Daniel said in an urgent whisper.

With a seductive grin she giggled, "I want you to dance with me." She stood up, removed her camisole and held her hand out to him.

Daniel's eyes glided slowly over her body. Then he got up, slipped out of his tank top and threw it on the floor next to hers. In the center of the living room, their seeking bodies met and began to move, slowly, sensually, as close as they could be short of the total intimacy of intercourse. In a repeat of the dream they'd shared, hands and mouths moved freely, exploring and searching, making up for all they had denied themselves for too long.

They were so lost in their feelings, their craving bodies acting and reacting to each other's touches, they barely noticed that the music had stopped. In the seconds between the end of one CD and the beginning of another, they stopped moving and looked at each other.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I hope it's not the only thing you want from me," Daniel said, his breathing heavy and a suggestive smile leaving no doubt about his meaning.

"You're teasing, right?"

Trying very hard to keep a straight face, Daniel said, "I could go back to being the serious Daniel, if you'd prefer?"

"No!" she answered quickly.

One of Janet's favorite love songs started playing. "Tell me," Daniel said in an insistent voice, his muscular arms tightening around her hips.

She slid one arm from around Daniel's neck and let it glide down his chest, her splayed fingers touching as much of his skin as she could reach. Very slowly she wound the arm around his waist. She slipped her fingers under the waistband of his shorts. Her light touch on the silky skin at the base of his spine had the effect she'd hoped. His lower body pressed hard against her as they swayed to the new music.

She chose her words very carefully. As her mouth moved around his bare chest with teasing, feathery kisses, she answered him in a breathy, passion-filled voice, "I want the deepest parts of you that you've kept hidden and silent for so long. I want every day of the rest of my life to be filled with your smiles and laughter, strength and caring. I want to work with you, side by side, to make both our dreams come true, the little ones and the big ones. I want to share each day and watch them accumulate into many years. I want to grow old with you. I want your joy and humor, your hopes and disappointments, your fears and tears, your successes and failures. I want you to want the same from me as your partner in love and life. Most of all, I want your trust and belief that what I give you is good and beautiful and perfect."

"I promise I'll remind you, every day, for as long as we live." Daniel possessively covered her mouth with his. Janet's lips and tongue responded with their own demands.

As the kiss became deeper and more evocative of the joining they had to consummate, their needful urgency was almost painful. Their bodies shuddered, exchanging moans and sighs. Hands and mouths were fire on the others flesh, giving and receiving growing pleasure. Overflowing hearts pumped more blood to already engorged organs, hard, hungry and burning. Far beyond what they had shared in the dream, a powerful soul-deep oneness filled all the old, empty places.

Janet broke the kiss first. Panting heavily, she forced herself to speak again, knowing her last desire was something she had to ask for very directly. "There's one part of the night of dreams you've always left out, Daniel."

He loosened his hold on her and stood up straight so he could look down into her eyes. Despite his high level of arousal, he became very still. "That has to be your choice."

"I told you in the dream, I've already made it."

"Then ask."

"I want a miracle, my love. The miracle only you can give me," and she caressed his cheek very gently with her open hand, hoping to banish the anxiety she saw in his eyes.

"You'd do that? Change your whole life to have a child?"

"No. But I will if that beautiful little boy in our dream comes from you. Your body can give me what I'd given up hope of ever having."

So many intense emotions crossed Daniel's face and he crushed her against him. "Don't ever leave me," he moaned into her hair. In one quick motion, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom they would share.

* * *

In the deepest part of the night, where silence holds sway, a sudden breeze blew into the room where sweat-slicked bodies lay. Their hard hyper breathing receded very slowly until, finally, the one separated into two distinct forms, no longer joined, but still touching.

Daniel's eyes opened first and saw tears glistening on his new lover's lashes. More tears squeezed out of Janet's tightly closed eyelids. They sparkled in the strong moonlight that poured in from the uncovered glass of the windows. He wiped them away with his fingertip. When he brought his wet finger to his lips, he tasted the saltiness along with a musky residue from her body. The reality was far better than the dream had been.

He wasn't sure which words to say first. "Janet, why the tears?"

She opened her eyes and smiled. "I've never felt like this before."

"That makes two of us," he laughed softly. He traced the outline of one eyebrow with a gentle touch then moved down one cheek to her lips. As he circled their softness, her moist tongue tip darted out and teased his finger. Very slowly, he continued down her throat to the space between her breasts. When she shivered, he asked, "Are you cold?"

"A little."

He sat up and reached for the quilt at the foot of the bed. He pulled it up and wrapped it around both of them. He sighed contentedly as he felt Janet's hand lightly skimming his body under the cover.

"Dream of me tonight?" Janet asked, her hand caressing his thigh.

Daniel looked into the beautiful dark eyes shining with love for him and wondered again how someone so intelligent could want him so much. He covered her lips with his lightly then said, "I'll wake you when I do."

They pressed their sated bodies together, arms and legs entwined, as close as they would be until the next time they physically met in love and passion.

He felt his body relax and begin to recede from the euphoria of his climax. Unbidden, a memory from the past slipped through his ecstasy at having Janet beside him. It was an old superstition he'd heard from a tribal shaman on his first archeological dig after grad school. Happiness brings on the notice of the gods and one of the beings may begrudge too much joy to a human. As he pulled Janet even closer to him, he asked that all the myriad gods of the universe close their eyes as they passed his life this time.


End file.
